New World in a State of Nature

John Bartram’s Travels on the St. Johns River, 1765 — 1766

In the winter of 1765 — 66 a sixty-six year old Quaker from Pennsylvania named John Bartram, accompanied by his son William Bartram, traveled in a dugout canoe to explore East Florida’s most important waterway, the St. Johns River. East and West Florida had become British colonies only two years before, and little was known in London about the new provinces that Spain ceded to Britain at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 that ended the Seven Years War.

Visit the Introduction to John Bartram’s Travels to read more.

To browse these two maps, simply click on a highlighted point on each map.

Dedicated to the memory of Lukie Ansbacher, whose generosity and confidence in this project will always be appreciated.

Upstream Travels

December 20, 1765 to January 12, 1766

Downstream Travels
January 13, 1765 to February 11, 1766